PARIS, FRANCE — In a decisive move to enforce international sanctions against Moscow, French naval forces have successfully intercepted and boarded a Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker off the coast of Sicily, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday.
Taking to social media to confirm the operation, President Macron shared dramatic video footage showing French troops boarding and conducting a search of the vessel. The President stated that the tanker was intercepted because it was sailing “in violation of maritime law.”
The vessel, identified as the Deliver, is a Cameroonian-flagged ship. According to intelligence provided by Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, the Deliver has been deeply involved in the illicit export of Russian oil since 2024, operating primarily out of ports situated in the Baltic and Black Seas.
The tanker is part of a sprawling, clandestine network known as the “shadow fleet.” Russia has increasingly relied on this fleet to evade stringent Western sanctions imposed on its energy industry, which explicitly prevent Moscow from chartering or securing insurance for oil tankers unless they comply with strict price caps and regulations. To bypass these international restrictions, the shadow fleet utilizes highly complex ownership structures, flags of convenience, and other deceptive tactics designed to mask the true origin and destination of its lucrative cargo.
This latest maritime interdiction by France marks a growing, coordinated European crackdown on Russian smuggling routes. It comes just days after the United Kingdom announced a major operation earlier this month, during which British forces intercepted and boarded another Russian shadow fleet tanker, the Smyrtos, in the English Channel.
The British government revealed that their six-hour operation was a massive multi-agency effort involving Royal Marine Commandos and law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA). The boarding was heavily supported by Chinook, Merlin, and Wildcat helicopters, alongside a Royal Air Force P-8 maritime patrol aircraft and the Royal Navy warships HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury.
Highlighting this unified front, President Macron praised the consecutive naval operations.
“This latest action against the ‘shadow fleet’, carried out just a few days after a similar operation by the United Kingdom, illustrates the determination of Europeans,” Macron stated on Thursday.
Sending a clear warning to Moscow, he firmly concluded: “We will not allow the ‘shadow fleet’ to circumvent sanctions and finance Russia’s war effort.”
